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Lawmaker Going to Jail for Spanking His Child and Leaving a Mark

When you were growing up, you may have gotten spankings as punishment when you were in trouble. I know that I got my share, and I know that it was a different time and climate in the country. People have been employing corporal punishment since the beginning of time, probably, and it’s only in recent years that people have realized that there may be a better way. In fact, some attorneys in family law suggest that parents not use this type of punishment because it could land you in legal trouble. Increasingly, psychologists and mental health professionals caution against spanking and hitting.

There are some long-term dangers in physical violence, and there are better ways to handle a child’s acting out. Recently, a California assemblyman named Joaquin Arambula was arrested when a staff person at his little girl’s school noticed that the child had an injury. The little girl is only seven years old and is a first-grader who goes to Daily Elementary Charter School. The little girl reported her father to her teacher, and the man was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of willful injury. While the case was being investigated, all three of the couple’s daughters were taken away from them and put into protective custody with their grandparents.

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Arambula’s daughters are aged 3, 6, and 7. In an interview, the man said that he rarely spanks his kids, but his little girl was acting out. He said that it’s what parents ‘have to be able to do” when raising children. His wife, Elizabeth Arambula, said that the little girl was very angry about her spanking, and she feels that this is why the little girl reported the spanking to her teacher. Elizabeth said that the little girl woke up angry and wanted to be heard.

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Arambula describes himself as a “loving father” and notes that the community is aware of this. He said that he’s going through a process to try to put his family back together again. He wasn’t formally charged and was later released. Watch the news video about this story below.